5 Things That Make Me Weird?
adjective, weird·er, weird·est strange; odd; bizarre
I think I'm secure enough in myself to admit that I'm an acquired taste, a little bit on the weird side. That might change depending on the comments I receive, but we'll just go with it for now.
Maybe I'm weird because I spent so much time alone as a kid. I'm a proud GenXer, so it's probably not shocking to know that I had to entertain myself the majority of the time while I was growing up. I used to joke that when I played dolls, I had to be Barbie and Ken. There were very few playmates for me. It was all my crazy imagination.
Maybe part of it is because I was a stay-at-home mom for years and didn't have many adults to talk to when my kids were young.
Maybe I was just born this way. Woven into my DNA. Whether it's been nature or nurture, who knows? But I like me just fine, so I'm not really looking for answers.
Here are a few ingredients that have gone into my proprietary blend of weird over the years. I'd share more, but I can't give away all my secrets...wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more.
(Right there was a prime example, I love to reference things often and with complete abandon. My kids are not a fan.)
1) I read like I'm in a trance or something.
I also read incredibly fast. I never thought anything of it, until I tried to explain to my best friend what I experience when I read. It's like I don't see the words on the page (or screen) anymore. I guess my brain takes over as my imagination takes hold, and I stop noticing the text.
I can have a full conversation while reading at the same time. My trance thing doesn't affect my other senses. See, I'm weird. Unless there are others...maybe we could form a support group?
2) I love Pottery Barn Teen Harry Potter merch.
I don't know why they brand it as 'teen,' because I am a grown adult and can't resist dreaming I own it all.
I think the only thing comparable to me wanting this stuff is my childhood wish for a Barbie Dream House. I wanted it with the desperation only an 8-year-old at Christmas-time looking at a toy catalog possessed. (If you're curious, I never got one. Tragic, I know.)
Pottery Barn just comes up with the coolest stuff. Like, who doesn't want a tasteful Hedwig figure lamp or a timeturner clock? Maybe a fancy duvet cover with a throw pillow embroidered with 'Always' that makes my heart melt! Oh, Alan Rickman.
Please just take my money. Well, my virtual 'won the lottery' money, because as amazing as the stuff is, in reality it's sadly too overpriced for me. Sigh.
3) I think Avatar the Last Airbender is the best animated series ever. Fight me. Just kidding. But seriously, it is.
I fell in love with Avatar one Christmas when my kids were quite a bit younger. My one son had gotten the box set, and we spent all of Christmas break binge watching together.
I'm sure some of my love for it is the memories we've shared over the years, the inside jokes, the one liners we pull out from time to time, but I also am truly captivated by the characters.
Each one of them stayed true to themselves as their characters grew and evolved. They encouraged recognition of both good and bad behavior; apologized if they were in the wrong. There was adventure, joy, friendship, humor, love, redemption, and forgiveness.
I think it showed the coming of age story I wish that I had.
Gah, now I'm all nostalgic and will have to restart the series again.
4) When I was younger, ok much younger, I used to be able to lip-sync all the actors' lines in Top Gun.
I would rent it from Block Buster video and then watch it over and over again until I had to return it. I'd have to wait until the physical copy was available again, then rinse and repeat.
I literally cannot tell you how many times I've seen that film.
It didn't hurt that the movie had hot guys, romance and fast flying. And I loved the storyline, plain and simple. It's remained one of my favorite movies of all time. (I've seen Maverick and loved it too!)
When the movie was first released, I had ambitions of becoming a pilot when I grew up. That goal stuck with me for a long time, and I referenced it in my senior yearbook: future plans–look to the sky. I even applied to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona and was accepted, but life had other plans.
I did end up working on my recreational pilot's license when I was about twenty-three. I passed my written test and was about three quarters of the way through my flight training when several things happened which ultimately kept me from finishing.
I love all the memories of my time flying though. If you were wondering, yes, I did at least get to do some solo flights, and they were awesome!!
5) I make up dreamscapes to help me fall asleep.
Ever since I was little, I've made up worlds in my mind, some fantastical, some completely grounded in the ordinary. I use those worlds to create stories that help me fall asleep.
Sometimes I'm the protagonist and other times I'm a sort of omniscient narrator. My mind will create a storyline and then I'm off, filling in all the details as I fall asleep. I usually have about two stories going at a time that I choose from that have similar elements. I change them up when I get bored or some other idea in real life catches my fancy.
You'd think perhaps that doing all that thinking would keep me awake, but I think choosing what I want my mind to focus on helps me relax. I'm sure a therapist would find that interesting, but I don't want to analyze it. I need my sleep!
Zzzzzz.....Zzzzzz.....Zzzzzz
I don't know what all these weird quirks say about me, but let's just pretend they make me wonderfully 'unique.'
Whatever makes you special, embrace it! (Unless it's something illegal, then maybe don't.) Otherwise I'll keep being me, and you keep being you.
If you're up for it, share some of your own brand of weird in the comments.
Much love to you all,
Heather
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Comments (35)
Aww this was a brilliant read! I love how conversational your writing is…. It feels like….it’s from my own mind 🙈 One thing I’m very curious about.. when you talk about making up storylines… Do you see them as pictures or do you do this in words? I fairly recently learned that people see images in their mind (something I cannot do!) and it’s now rather fascinating to me. I have a draft article on Aphantasia (I think that’s the spelling!) but I still never returned to finish it yet
I don't think those are weird at all. Maybe that's because I am Gen-Xer too? The dreamscape thing is something I use occasionally when I cannot fall asleep. Maybe I'll share my list one of these days, too. ;-)
One of you Top Stories I missed and such a great read to find out even more about you
As someone who is just as weird as you, I love you and hope you stay beautiful. Also, I watch anime like everyday to the point I animate myself irl
Ha! Just saw a comment that led me to this article. Doesn't it feel great to open up like this without a care in the world about what people think. Thank you for allowing us to see a different (weird) side of you. I loved it.
Number 5 is the next level version of counting sheep :)
Adorable! It's so interesting to hear what people consider as weird about themselves because more often than not it doesn't seem weird to others at all, and actually ends up being very relatable instead of an oddity :) It gives me hope that maybe the things I find weird about myself are things that another considers "normal" lol. For example my top 5 weirdnesses are::1) I watch where I set my feet down while walking as much as absolutely possible to avoid stepping on anything I may kill, mainly bugs. When I had to walk a little over a mile to work I was late almost every day due to this, definitely did not tell anyone the real reason I was always late to avoid the crazy label haha. 2) I eat things in layers. Like my favorite candy bar for example is a Skor. I slowly nibble all of the chocolate off first, always attempting to keep the toffee in one piece. Pizza I eat toppings off one by one, like all the pepperoni first, then all of the olives, then all of the peppers, the cheese next, then I lick off the sauce. Then eat the softest parts of the crust/bread part eating the crispiest part last. 3) My connections with the people I love the most seem to be so powerful to me, they are almost like something super natural or from another realm or dimension or lifetime..like we are so emotionally connected things happen in my dreams or theirs as they really happen, or we show up or call exactly when needed. Its very hard to explain and pretty unbelievable to most people. 4) I have very vivid dreams and remember them in so much detail, sometimes Its hard to remember they are dreams not reality. I even remember detailed dreams from 30 years ago, Im 34. 5)I hate sleeping by myself and have not slept alone willingly my entire life. I slept with my grandma until I was 17. I've co slept with all 5 of my kids until they wanted their own beds. I now can't fall asleep laying alone. Ok now someone please let me know I'm not completely weird and alone on everything above haha
Omg, I love Avatar toooo! It truly is the best animated series! I also saw that with my family during Christmas time - not my own family, but with my mom, dad, and two brothers. I was a young adult and it was still so magical! I can't wait to see the new one! Loved this article, thank you for sharing! I am weird too. Maybe I'll share some of my weirdness as well 😅
https://vocal.media/feast/cheese-ball-talk https://vocal.media/poets/chocolate-covered-strawberries-anyone https://vocal.media/poets/abandonment-pq76na0jn4 I sure wish I could start getting pledges, and tips just so I can start tipping awesome dope authors like you. Please read my work, and please tell your peers about my links, and ask them to read my work. I network thru vocal.media, and Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram when I can. I can't tolerate being unable to tip or pledge to awesome authors like you. Ugh. Good night. Enjoy.
You're very welcome. Keep being the best author you can be. Wonderful work. Keep it up!! https://vocal.media/motivation/time-is-the-coin-of-your-life-you-spend-it-do-not-allow-others-to-spend-it-for-you-written-by-the-glorious-carl-sandburg
ha ha...ha- the most makes me weird is- "I make up dreamscapes to help me fall asleep". That true that is makes me very weird. nice article you wrote Heather Hubler. thanks
I cherish your 'proprietary blend of weird' and I'm sure it will become even better with time, like good wine. Loved your candid list of peculiarities-they're all precious gifts. #1 is wonderful. Please, don't give up the recreational pilot's license!
Omg, I do number 5 too - but it doesn't help me fall asleep too well because I can be a perfectionist who needs the story to be 'just right'. Nice article!
No one is "normal." Everyone is weird in their own way. I know I do things/have hobbies/etc that are weird. It was nice to read about what you think is weird about yourself. It makes you, you. And that is awesome.
❤❤
I love this, it simplifies the way weird people behave and react, this is lovely to read about
Definitely not weird, I promise. These things about you are charming, and perhaps slightly uncommon, but not anywhere approaching rare or weird. If you want to see weird watch the movies “May” or “Mandy”
I love this! It was such an interesting and fun read! Plus, I love how you “embrace the weird,” (which isn’t weird, and I love that pieces like these help normalize that, while doing so lightheartedly). 💕
So glad I'm not the only one who does the dreamscapes thing! How do normal people fall asleep? No clue
Great work. Thanks.
So good to hear of another who is not afraid to be who she is. I just published my own account of being me listing some of the benefits. Link: https://vocal.media/psyche/being-me-rt9smr0l72
Definitely not weird at all, just an awesome person who's comfortable with who you are. I'm a grown adult that still loves My Little Pony and has a closet full of Harry Potter shirts. I'd much rather read than deal with the drama of hanging out with others, yet I never feel lonely. Being an only child sometimes just makes a cool, put together kind of person.
Nice.. love it..😊
Loving the authentic you!!! Fabulous story & Congratulation on the Top Story!!!
Very well thought of content. I love TOP GUN too!! WoW! How did you managed to fly SOLO? Awesome!